Vegetarian Diets for Heart Health?
There have now been 15 posts this month on various ways to improve heart health.
Check out this link if you missed any...
Nearly every single one was related to some plant based food – maybe a fruit, maybe a veggie, a bean, or oats. Sure, wild salmon was in the mix, and other non plant based foods will be too…
…but that’s a strong association for plant foods and heart health.
And it’s not surprising because there’s very solid data that those who follow a vegetarian diet have lower rates of heart disease.
The first response I often get from "non vegetarians" is a cringe and "NO WAY" — all they eat is tofu and wheat grass! GROSS!
Not so fast. That couldn't be further from the truth. There are several “classifications” of vegetarian diets:
- Vegan, eats no animals or animal by products (dairy, eggs, honey, etc).
- Some eat fish, but no meat.
- Eat/drink dairy, but no meats.
- And the list goes on.
We're putting out the challenge for you to try 1 week of vegetarian living … no meats (chicken, turkey, red meat, fish, etc). For this challenge all animal based products are OK, but definitely not the traditional meat foods.
It’s a challenge.
It will force you to eat more fruits and veggies, beans, grains and all those other great foods we’ve talked about this month.
We’re not vegetarians at the Mohr House, but aim to eat at least 3 meat free dinners each week. It’s fun experimenting with different recipes too … in fact, you HAVE to give this one a try from Fine Cooking Magazine. It's unbelievable!
Even if you eat animal foods regularly, experiment a bit.
And here’s an easy way to “break into” more of a vegetarian based lifestyle – it’s a book by friend and fellow dietitian, Dawn Jackson Blatner called “The Flexitarian Diet.”
It’s a “meet me in the middle” approach to the “traditional” vegetarian lifestyle.
Give it a whirl – at the very least it will help you increase your fruit and veggie intake. Let us know how you do!
February 16th, 2010 at 6:53 am
I am in!
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February 16th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Count me in!
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February 16th, 2010 at 7:48 am
I'm sure you have heard of Tosca Reno, Eat Clean Diet. I have a couple of her books and have wanted to try and start eating this way, but have not made it yet. Hopefully, I can get the book Flextarian Cooking and start there. Tosca has some really good sounding recipes, so if you have not taken a look at her books you might want to check them out. Have a good day.
Kellie
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February 17th, 2010 at 7:45 am
I'm not sure Im ready to try a whole week, but we (wife and I) do have one day a week completely vegetarian(no meats). I'll think about it.
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